


To Be a Fighter

by Cantatrice18



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Backstory, Family Feels, Gen, Unexpected friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:43:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9166669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: Narcissa, working late in the Slytherin Common Room, receives an unexpected interruption in the form of her little cousin, Regulus. Her attempt to soothe him and ward off his nightmares takes an unexpected turn.Explains how Regulus knew what Horcruxes were, enough to understand Voldemort's plans.





	

Narcissa sat at a small wooden table tucked into a corner of the Slytherin common room, trying desperately to stay awake even as the words on the page in front of her blurred together. It was well past midnight, and the subterranean chamber had grown icy. The serpentine metal lamps that provided warmth to the room had cooled as the hours passed, their bright red eyes fading to a dim glow. She had conjured up a ball of blue flame which now hovered over her table, providing heat and light for her to work, but even that couldn’t dispel the chill entirely. Her body longed for the comfort of soft sheets and a hot water bottle. Still, these ungodly hours were her only time to truly study the subject that mattered the most. Slapping her wrists lightly to wake herself, she turned back to the book and reread the paragraph she’d accidentally skipped in her exhaustion. The spiky black writing took a great deal of deciphering, and the book itself was imbued with poison so that she required gloves just to touch the pages. It was certainly not the sort of thing to read in a crowded common room at midday, unless she wanted to risk unwanted questions, not to mention the health and safety of her friends. 

Carefully, making certain no part of her skin brushed the parchment, she lifted a page by the corner and turned it. She held her breath until the page had settled, then let out a long exhale. Her relief, however, was short lived. She heard a cough from behind her and spun to find a small figure standing in the doorway that led down to the boys’ dormitory. The child had short black hair and large eyes with long dark lashes that stood out against his pale skin. His green pajamas were ever so slightly too large, making him appear even smaller than he was. His eyes were frightened as he looked at her, and he shrank nervously back into the shadows when she stood up. “Regulus?” she said curiously. “What are you doing out of bed?”

The boy didn’t answer, instead looking down at his bare feet. He was shaking, whether from cold or fear Narcissa couldn’t tell. She sighed as she surveyed him. “Another nightmare?”

Regulus blushed bright red, then nodded, mumbling under his breath. “I can’t hear you,” Narcissa informed him. “Come closer.”

Regulus obeyed, his reluctance fading the closer he got to her. She walked the last few steps to meet him and crouched to hug him. “Monsters?” she asked.

The boy shook his head. “Giants. All around our house, breaking windows, trying to eat me, and Mama, and Sirius, and ‘Dromeda, and you, and—“ he broke off and she hugged him tighter, ruffling his hair before picking him up and carrying him the few steps to her chair. “It’s alright,” she told him soothingly, when she was seated once more. “No giants can get you here. And I’d like to see them try to come near your house, with all the protections that are on it. They’d never get close.”

Regulus snuggled closer to her, his trembling slowly subsiding. “Could you defeat a giant?” he asked her.

Narcissa thought for a moment. “Maybe not by myself. But with Bella’s help, I could.”

“I think you could all by yourself,” Regulus declared. “You’re brave enough, and clever enough too.”

She smiled. “Flatterer. Let’s just hope it never comes to that.”

“Deal,” said Regulus with a giggle. In the safety of her embrace, all of his fear seemed to have fled. He looked around the common room with interest, his gaze catching on the books and papers spread out over her little table. “What are you working on?” he asked interestedly. 

“Just schoolwork,” said Narcissa evasively. To her horror, Regulus reached out a hand towards the book she’d been reading. “Don’t!” she cried, her voice echoing off the stone walls of the empty common room. 

Regulus snatched his hand back, looking frightened once more. “I’m sorry,” he said hurriedly.

Narcissa took a breath to calm herself. “It’s alright, Reg. Just—don’t touch things without asking. You could have been hurt if you’d even brushed against that book.”

“What is it?” Regulus asked, awe replacing fear in his voice. 

Narcissa hesitated. “It’s a book Father sent me, for some extra reading.”

“Is it a Dark Arts book?” The boy peered over her shoulder at the open volume. Reluctantly, Narcissa nodded. “But why do you need it?” he asked.

“Because, well…” Narcissa began to rub small circles along his back. “The world is changing,” she explained. “Soon the Dark Arts may be necessary in order to succeed in life. That is, if certain people have their way.”

“You mean the Dark Lord.” Regulus’s voice was almost accusatory. Narcissa did not answer. “Are you going to join him, then?”

Narcissa thought for a moment, before finally shaking her head. “No. I’ve considered it, but I’m not a fighter. Not in that way, anyway.”

“So why do you need to learn the Dark Arts, if not to fight?” said Regulus.

Narcissa smiled, her gaze becoming distant. “There are more ways than one to help fight. I want to defend the people I love, keep them from harm. If I could find a way to protect Bella, for instance, when she fights at the Dark Lord’s side, or keep Mama and Papa safe. Or protect you.” She pulled him close, letting him wrap thin arms around her neck and shoulders. “If I could find a way to keep the giants away forever, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“And have you found it?” Regulus asked eagerly. “Can you protect people from being hurt, or getting killed?”

Narcissa shook her head sadly. “Not yet. The closest I’ve come are spells that claim to give you immortality, and most of those are far-fetched. One spell involves jumping from the highest tower you can find, without using any magic to help you land. Another suggests eating Effermire quills in soup. So far I’ve found no proof that that beast even exists. This book here,” she gestured at the poisonous book behind her, “says there is a way to split your soul in two, in order to keep you alive if your body is killed. But it doesn’t say how you split your soul, or what you do with the second piece of it. It’s very unhelpful.”

“I don’t think I’d like living forever,” Regulus mused, looking serious. “Not unless you were living forever too. I think it would be sad, to be all alone.”

Narcissa kissed his forehead, smiling. “Well, as it doesn’t seem likely that I’ll find the secret to immortality any time soon, I don’t think it’s worth worrying about. But you’re very sweet.”

Regulus yawned broadly. “I think I can sleep now,” he informed her. “The giants are gone.”

“Excellent,” Narcissa replied solemnly. “Shall I tuck you in, then?”

“Yes, please.” 

Regulus hopped off her lap and took her hand in his. Together they walked down the sloping hallway to the boy’s dormitory, a circular room with a giant snake inlaid in jade on the floor and seven metal doors with numbers engraved on them. Narcissa followed Regulus through a door marked with the number 1 and crept through the beds until she reached the furthest one. There she pulled back the bedsheets and helped the little boy climb in. Tucking the blankets around him, she gave him one last hug. As she began to turn away, she heard him murmur her name. “Yes?” she said, looking back. 

“Cissy, do you think I could ever be a fighter? I mean a real fighter.”

Narcissa squeezed his hand gently. “I think you can be whatever you want to be, so long as you work hard enough.”

Regulus smiled and wriggled further under the covers, his eyelids closing. “Thank you, Cissy.”

“Sleep well,” she whispered. 

Tiptoeing back between the beds, she shut the door behind her and made her way to her makeshift desk once more. Slipping on her gloves, she cleared the table of all the books and papers, sweeping them into her bag and shutting the clasp at the top. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, she crossed the common room and headed towards the girl’s dormitory. There would be plenty of time to work tomorrow night. For now what she needed was dreamless sleep, with no monsters to haunt her or worries to keep her awake. As she crawled into bed, her mind drifted back to the little boy sleeping not too far away. If he chose to fight, to join the inevitable war to come, then she would do all she could to protect him. It was the least he deserved.


End file.
